THE DYBBUK

(Der Dibuk, 1937)

One of the best-known examples of the flourishingYiddish cinemain Poland before 1939 is the Yiddish classicThe Dybbuk, directed byMichał Waszyńskiand photographed byAlbert Wywerka. The film is anadaptationof a popular play by S. An-sky (Shloyme Zanvil Rappoport), published in 1922. Deeply rooted in Jewish folklore and mysticism, and heavily influenced by German expressionist theater, this film about unfulfilled love is frequently listed as one of the masterpieces of prewar European cinema.The Dybbukportrays the world of nineteenth-century Eastern European Hasidim—the world of traditional superstitions—and couples it with a melodramatic aspect. It offers a metaphysical tragedy in the spirit ofRomeo and Juliet. The restored version ofThe Dybbukpremiered in New York in September 1989.